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Sixth-grade Kenai Middle School students, left to right, Kat Payton (striped blanket), Raeliana Feik (baseball blanket), Karen Stroh, The LeeShore emergency shelter manager, and Sydney Tyler (blue blanket with guitars) are shown presenting blankets they made to Stroh. The girls and their mentor, Christina Bertmaring of the U.S. Coast Guard, not shown, decided to do a project that would be of some benefit to the community. When families go to the shelter, each family member is given a blanket to keep. The girls decided to make blankets that would be more masculine and therefore be more appropriate and appealing for the teen boys. The girls and Bertmaring meet during lunch time on Mondays. They have been meeting for a couple of months.

Have you had or are about to have visitors? Has a new addition to your family just arrived? Where in the world is your military person and what are they up to? Got a new graduate, dean's list student or an award-receiving youth? Do you have a news event, activity or fundraiser you need to let the community know about? Send it to us!

I had a surprise on Valentine's Day that I could not have anticipated in a hundred years: I had an emergency appendectomy. But not before the doctor, who may have graduated high school about the same time as my youngest kid, said "Are you sure you even HAVE your appendix? People YOUR AGE usually don't get appendicitis."

Parents and staff are shown helping students with their Seuss creations as Soldotna Elementary celebrated Dr. Seuss' birthday with a huge gala after school for parents and students recently. Title 1 reading teacher Katrina Cannava spearheaded the event which featured making Oobleck, creating hats a la Cat in the Hat, reading Dr. Seuss books, enjoying a Seuss birthday cake and making butter.